4th round NFC East recap / instant analysis

Matt Barkley, QB, USC: I already wrote about Barkley here. I’ll only add that I thought Brian Solomon of NBC / McNabborKolb.com made a great point:

Ryan Nassib, QB, Syracuse: Nassib also already got his own quick write-up here. I hadn’t planned on doing a write-up for every player after round 2. But QB’s get the girls, and when guys as big as Matt Barkley and Ryan Nassib get drafted, they get their own write-ups. I’ll quickly reiterate that I like the pick.

B.W. Webb, CB, William & Mary: Webb is a player I watched at the Senior Bowl. My only notes on him from the week of practices:

B.W. Webb of William & Mary did a nice job aggressively running up and fielding a short punt. That’s a very underrated skill in the NFL. How often do you see a crappy punt that goes 25-30 yards roll for an additional 15-20 because the returner either doesn’t recognize the punt is short, or they simply don’t hustle up and try to catch it. Hidden yards count too.

So obviously, not much, ha, although people I talked to down in Mobile thought very highly of him. But it is worth noting that Webb doubles as a punt returner. Obviously the Cowboys are set at CB for a while, having invested in the position heavily last offseason. Webb gives them a 4th CB and another option to return punts.

Phillip Thomas, S, Fresno St.: Before Round 4 began today, there were a lot of Eagles fans wondering if Philly would take Phillip Thomas. My friend Mark from HogsHaven.com had previously noted Thomas had a terrible game against Oregon lats year, so I made the following point:

Q: Are there things that you’d you like to work on, your skills that you’d like to improve at the next level?

PT: Definitely. Even thought this past year I did have great stats and everything, I had a habit of missing open field tackles, and that’s one thing that I really key on for myself and thing that I need to work on the most of anything. It’s just, being in the open field and making tackles, I am the last line of defense. Safeties can’t miss tackles really, and that’s one thing I would work on.

However, his ball skills are outstanding. In 2012, Thomas led the nation in INTs:

The Hogs Haven guys basically judged Phillip Thomas whole career based off of one bad game against Oregon. Give me a break! Skins got good value with him and Rambo. They’ll be the starting safety tandem in 2014.

Phillip Thomas brings with him certain intangibles like psychic powers. I can’t overemphasize how important it is to have a safety that can see into the future. Last year, he said he was a Washington Redskin, and everyone thought he was impersonating the guy with the same name that the Eagles cut: